NFL Draft: 5 players Eagles should consider in first round

1. Calijah Kancey, DL, Pittsburgh

Kancey is drawing comparisons to former Pitt star Aaron Donald for obvious reasons. They played at the same collegiate institution and both guys head into the draft with serious questions about some of their physical characteristics.

The drawback to Kancey as a prospect is that he lacks the ideal size and length for the defensive tackle position. He makes up for those concerns with the elite ability to knife into the backfield to disrupt opponents. ACC coaches had to constantly double-team Kancey to prevent him from blowing up their offensive game plans.

Of course, duplicating that at the NFL level will test Kancey. Teams interested in drafting him will need to believe he is truly an exception to the rule of what size teams need from their defensive tackles. The Eagles are a front office that could talk themselves into believing Kancey is a unicorn.

In an ideal world, Kancey could play early downs at tackle before getting some opportunities to rush the quarterback from the edge on obvious passing downs. He will need a certain amount of freedom to wreak havoc at the pro level. Philadelphia is a team that can give him enough space to thrive as a rookie.